12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent buy, 25 May 2009
This is an excellent purchase for any beginner to watercolour painting. The exercises can be attempted again and again to view one's improvement.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for watercolour beginners, 25 Aug 2011
Length:: 1:26 Mins
Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner is actually a collection of books what were published earlier, namely You Can Paint Watercolors by Alwyn Crawshaw, You Can Paint People in Watercolour by Sharon Finmark and You Can Paint Animals in Watercolour by Trevor Waugh.
It's now sold together as a 224-page paperback at a wonderful bundle price.
This is probably the least intimidating watercolour book I've seen. The exercises are short and easy to follow. It shouldn't take more than 15-30 minutes to complete each one.
The examples are simple, usually a single subject, like a banana or some grapes. Even for the landscape paintings, there are also very few elements included. The simple examples are great in a way because they build confidence.
What's lacking is perhaps the section on colour theory. It teaches basic colour mixing, with simple recipes provided in all the exercises. But it doesn't talk about colour harmony, like how some colours work well with others. Anyway, you can get another book for that called
Watercolor Artist's Guide to Exceptional Color by Jan Hart.
This book is highly recommended to watercolour beginners who want something less intimidating. Or if you want something more challenging, but still suitable for beginners, check out
Complete Watercolour Course by John Raynes.
(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It does what it says on the tin!, 16 Oct 2010
I wanted a straightforward, easy to follow book as I am newcomer not just to Watercolour painting but art in general, and it does what it says on the tin. 'Watercolour for the Absolute beginner' is just what I was looking for in a book. It guides you from what tools and materials to and buy and follows on about how to use them. For me who always had an interest in art and drawing (but not very good) it takes you step by step on how to produce flowers, people, fruit, buildings etc. It's an all-in-one book which demystifies the whole idea of "you have to have a natural talent" to be an artist.
An excellent recommendation to anyone who has thought of taking up a new hobby. I am a crafter and this will enable me to include a new aspect into my crafting projects in the future.
Beautifully illustrated book and well written.
Highly recommended.
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